Obamacare enrollments in Marin and other North Bay counties higher than other parts of state

People who live in Marin and other North Bay counties are enrolling for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act in larger numbers than many other parts of the state.

Covered California, the state's new health care insurance exchange, released new data this week as the Monday deadline rapidly approached to enroll for coverage taking effect Jan. 1.

Covered California officials said 5,247 individuals in Marin, Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties enrolled in subsidized or non-subsidized Covered California health insurance plans from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. That number reflects 5 percent of the 109,296 statewide enrollment during that period.

"That's pretty good for us because these counties make up only about 3 percent of those who are eligible for subsidies," said Heather Ravani, Marin County's assistant director of health and human services. "We're definitely seeing a lot of people in our counties applying."

Covered California said an estimated 10,125 individuals in the North Bay counties started an application during that same period. Ravani said Covered California is not issuing numbers for enrollments in individual counties.

Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a health care consumer advocacy coalition based in Sacramento, said the higher enrollment rates in the North Bay jibe with enrollment rates in the Bay Area counties of Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco.

Twenty percent of Covered California's enrollment from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 — some 22,166 individuals — came from these five counties, while only an estimated 13 percent of those eligible for subsidies live in one of these counties.

"We would expect the Bay Area, including Marin, would be ahead of the curve," Wright said. "There is more of an infrastructure of organizations to help connect people with coverage. There is also greater support and acceptance of the new law and knowledge of its benefits."

The final deadline is March 31 for enrolling for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act; but individuals who want to make sure they have coverage in place by Jan. 1 must enroll in a plan by Monday.

Ravani said, "We're seeing a bit of an increase now given the Dec. 23 deadline."

Wright said there plenty of reasons why people should try to meet the earlier deadline.

"Every day that you are uncovered is a day that you are one emergency away from financial ruin; you don't schedule a trip to the emergency room but they can be very expensive," he said.

In addition to that, Wright said people who enroll later in the year will have less time to work through their deductible, which will be particularly costly if they choose a lower-priced bronze or silver level plan with a high deductible.

And, Wright said, "For every day you don't sign up, if you're eligible for subsidies, you're losing out on those subsidies."

In addition to providing subsidies to people who can't afford to purchase health insurance on their own, the Affordable Care Act increases the number of people who will qualify for health care services under Medi-Cal.

Covered California said from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 179,000 individuals were determined to be likely eligible for Medi-Cal. Ravani said some 700 additional individuals in Marin have already sought Medi-Cal coverage; Marin health officials have estimated an additional 1,800 Marin residents could qualify for Medi-Cal due to the Affordable Care Act.